Cheryl Lynch Quilts: France and Fabric

You don't think I would go on a trip and not have fabric involved in some way. We are traveling in the Provence region of France. Most people are familiar with the traditional Provencal fabric.I forgot to take a photo.

I found some other, quite colorful fabrics made right here.This was a shop in Arles.

Beautiful Jacquards manufactured here (and invented here around 1800) are primarily made into tablecloths.They are woven and heavier in weight. I saw this one and I fell in love. I'm a sucker for aqua and chartreuse. The fellow who owns this store is also a manufacturer.

He also had some other beautiful fabric of which I had to partake! Linen and this bright floral. I have plans for both.

I had my own bit of drama on our ship. The crew aboard this Viking ship will do anything they can to make you happy, but I found the one loop hole. Whenever I travel, I bring some type of handwork. Often it's a project with fusible applique. I don't fuse all the pieces down before I leave home because they will inevitably fray or fall off before I can stitch them down. I rely on using the hotel's iron. At most hotels there is an iron in your room and if there isn't, a call down to the front desk will bring someone to your room with an iron and ironing board in hand. I figured I could rely on this logic for our river cruise. Was I surprised.

After about 2 days, I needed an iron to fuse more circles onto one of my Curvalicious projects. There was no iron in my room. So I visited the front desk to ask for an iron. "No, I could not have an iron, I was politely told. It is a safety hazard. We would be happy to iron your clothes for you." But it's not clothes I said and of course she looked at me with a very quizzical look. Also, keep in mind that English is not the first language of most of the crew. I told her that I would only need an iron for 5 minutes and I would be happy to go downstairs to the laundry or wherever it is that they iron. I'm sorry she said, we can't allow it. Now I am getting pretty frustrated. The driving force became less that I wanted to finish stitching, but to get my hands on an iron. I know how to use a damn iron and I only wanted it for 5 minutes. She told me she would speak to Housekeeping.

The head of Housekeeping told me they would be more than happy to iron my clothes. They even left a note in my room to that effect. IT'S NOT CLOTHES!!! After a couple of hours I stopped at the front desk again and was told this time that the Ship's Director would have to approve. How hard could this be? Walking through the dining room I saw 2 cordless irons that they use to iron tablescloths in place. " Please, please, please, can I use an iron? I saw them in the dining room."

Well, finally, I was given permission to use the irons in the dining room with supervision after dinner service. Come back at 10:00PM. If you know me that is way past my bedtime, but I managed to stay awake. This was way too important. The crew member, Palma, who supervised me was so sweet and was so curious about what I was doing. I was told I could come back any time. Thanks Palma.